Christmas at Xavier

Rachel Meyer, News Writer

As Ruth Carter Stapleton, a Christian evangelist, once said, “Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most.” Xavier High School has multiple traditions during the Christmas season, the most notable being the Christmas mass and Christmas concert. Xavier’s Christmas concert, “Christmas with Xavier,” will take place on December 12, 2021. This year, each of the four choirs, Singing Saints, Women’s Chorale, Xavier Chorale and Voce will be performing some songs. The choir department also has an all- men and all-women piece, along with two pieces that the entire choir department will perform during the beginning and end of the choir portion of the concert. The songs in this year’s program contain both classic and contemporary pieces. Mr. Philip Schroetter, the Xavier Choir Director, commented on the work that goes into “Christmas with Xavier.” “We started working on this music after our fall concert back in the middle of October. . . I look forward to what we give back to our community for our traditional Christmas with Xavier concert,” Schroetter said. The other portion of “Christmas with Xavier” is the band performance, which is directed by Ms. Kelli Swehla, Xavier’s Band Director. The band will be performing four pieces: “Go Tell it on the Mountain,” “Auld Lang Syne,” “Sparkling Lights’’ and “On This Day”. The band has been practicing together and individually since early October in preparation for the concert. There is no restriction on who can attend the concert, with all being welcome  to enjoy the performances that start at 5 p.m. Christmas with Xavier will also be recorded and aired Christmas morning on KCRG. Additionally, Xavier’s Christmas mass will take place on January 5, 2022 at around 9:45 a.m. The John Paul II community will assist in the planning of the mass and Father David O’Connor, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church, will be presiding. Although there are no special guests that will be honored at this mass, all are welcome to attend. Through these Christmas events, Xavier seeks to celebrate Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him…” (John 1:9-10).